Assembly for separating a part of a space

ABSTRACT

An assembly for separating a part from a space, adapted to keep the air inside this part separated from the air outside that part, which assembly comprises an upper wall which is pervious for air and which is supported on a framework, and further comprises side walls which consist, at least partially, of a transparent plastics foil or plate material, and which extend to the vicinity of the bottom. A raised floor is provided inside the separated space with suction channels in the raised floor communicating with suction openings in the side walls of the floor and with suction units connected or connectable to the suction channels. The suction units are provided with fine dust filters which are adapted to remove disease germs from the air which is exhausted from the separated part of the space.

Pielkenrood 1 i ASSEMBLY FOR SEPARATING A PART OF A SPACE [75] Inventor:Simon Pielkenrood, Parklaan, Netherlands [73] Assignee:Pielkenrood-Vinitex B. V.

Assendeltt, The Netherlands [22] Filed: Oct. 26, 1972 211 Appl. No.:301,095

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Oct. 31. 1971 Netherlands 7114989[52] US. Cl. v. 98/36; 98/115 R [51] Int. Cl F24f 9/00 [58] Field ofSearch 98/36, 115 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS1.194.527 8/1916 McNamara 98/36 3,505,989 4/1970 Truhan 98/36 X3.511.162 5/1970 Truhan .i 98/36 Primary Examiner-Meyer Perlin AssistantExaminer-Ronald C. Capossela Attorney. Agent or Firm-George F. SmythABSTRACT An assembly for separating a part from a space. adapted to keepthe air inside this part separated from the air outside that part, whichassembly comprises an upper wall which is pervious for air and which issup ported on a framework. and further comprises side walls whichconsist, at least partially. of a transparent plastics foil or platematerial, and which extend to the vicinity of the bottom. A raised flooris provided inside the separated space with suction channels in theraised floor communicating with suction openings in the side walls ofthe floor and with suction units connected or conncctable to the suctionchannels. The suction units are provided with fine dust filters whichare adapted to remove disease germs from the air which is exhausted fromthe separated part of the space.

12 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAPR ems SEiEETZPfZ ASSEMBLY FORSEPARATING A PART OF A SPACE In my copending United States ApplicationSer. No. l40,549 now U.S. Pat. No. 3,782,265, filed May 5, I97l, anassembly for separating a dust-free part of a space is described. whichis intended for keeping the air inside this part separated from the airoutside that part, which assembly comprises an upper wall pervious toair and supported by a frame-work, to which framework, moreover saidwalls are connected consisting, at least partially, of a transparentplastics sheet or plate material, and extending to the vicinity of thefloor. This assembly is, furthermore, provided with a filter box abovethe upper wall which is connected to one or more Now ers so as toprovide a substantially vertical downwardly directed dust-free air flowinside the separated space, which dust-free air is allowed to escape atthe lower side below the side walls. In particular the floor inside thisspace is raised, and extends to the vicinity of the side walls, so that,there, small exit gaps are provided in which the velocity of theemerging air is sufficiently high for preventing dust from penetrating.

Such an assembly is used for nursing patients which, because of anextremely low resistance against infection or because of a specialsensitivity for dust, should be nursed in a dust-free and, therefore,germ-free environment. With such an assembly it is effectively preventedthat unfiltered air enters this separated space, and the emerging aircan freely flow off into the surroundings. Furthermore, openings withgloves fixed therein and at least one transfer cabinet are provided inthe wall, so as to be able to nurse the patient and to provide thispatient with food and the like from the outside. without disturbing thedust-free condition within the nursing space.

Patients suffering from very contagious diseases are, in general, nursedin isolation rooms, in which case doctors and nursing and attendingpersonnel must be submitted to cumbersome and time-consumingdisinfecting treatments when leaving such a room or hospital department,which is, of course, very objectionable. Moreover visitors cannot beallowed to the isolation rooms, so that they can have only some contactwith the patient from the outside through a window, which isdisagreeable for both parties.

However, the assembly described in the patent application mentionedabove, which is designed for avoiding such objections, is not suitablefor nursing such contagious patients, since the air which has contactedthe patient can flow off to the environment. The invention provides aspecial embodiment of such an assembly, so that it becomes suitable fornursing contagious patients.

To that end the assembly according to the invention is characterized bysuction channels in the side walls of the raised floor, and by suctionunits to be connected to these channels and provided with such dustfilters that the disease germs are effectively removed from the airexhausted from the separated space.

Furthermore, means are provided for causing inwardly directed leak flowsat the upper and lower side of the side walls, the latter, inparticular, consisting of pliable transparent plastics curtains, inorder to prevent any air from leaking away from the inside of theseparated space.

In particular the invention provides a suitable transfer cabinet whichis adapted for transferring food and the like towards the inside withoutcontaminated air being able to flow outwards.

The invention will be elucidated below by reference to the drawings,showing in:

FIG. 1 a diagrammatic cross-section of an assembly of the invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 partial sections at a larger scale of two embodiments ofspecial auxiliary means at the lower side of a side wall of such anassembly;

FIG. 4 a partial section at a larger scale of the suspension of a sidewall of such an assembly; and

FIGS. 5 and 6 a partial section and front view respectively of atransfer cabinet for such an assembly.

In the drawings parts which correspond, in principle, to parts of thecopending Patent Application Ser. No. l40,549 now U.S. Pat. No.3,782,265 are indicated by the same reference numerals. Furthermore,these parts will be described only in short, as, for a completedescription, reference may be made to this copending application.

The assembly according to the invention shown in FIGS. 1 4 comprises oneor more units I, each consisting of four columns 2 supporting a topstructure constituted by a filter box 3, to which air may be supplied bya supply duct 4. Between these columns side walls 5 are suspended, thesewalls preferably consisting of transparent plastics curtains with pleats5'. These side walls extend to the vicinity of the floor, where an airgap 6 remains free. Inside each unit a raised floor or platform 8 withstraight side walls 9 is arranged, the latter walls being situated nearthe side walls 5.

At the upper side below the filter box 3 U-bars 11 are mounted in whichrails 12 for rollers 13 are fixed, on which rollers the side walls 5 aresuspended. At the outer side of these rails a resilient flap 14 isattached, providing a certain sealing of the upper side of the sidewalls. Furthermore, in one of the side walls a transfer cabinet 15 isarranged, its inner space 16 communicating, by means of an opening 18 inthe adjacent side wall 5, with the interior of the unit I in question.Below this cabinet a filter-blower cabinet I7 is provided which isadapted to maintain a certain air flow inside this space 16.

Inside the unit 1 a bed 20 is placed, by means of which a disinfectantmay be sprayed into the interior space of this unit. Furthermore, acavity 22 is provided in the raised floor, through which air may beexhausted from the unit 1.

The purpose of the elements described above in the assembly of thecopending patent application is to maintain a vertical air flow insidethe unit 1, which air flow is supplied at a given positive pressure inrespect of the surroundings, and is allowed to leak away through thebottom gaps 6 and along the flaps 14. In this manner dust is kept awayfrom the space inside the side walls 2, so that a patient may be nursedin a dustfree and germ-free environment. The exhaust through the cavity22 is exclusively intended for removing harmful vapours of thedisinfectant sprayed by the ducts 21, so that these vapours cannotemerge throughthe gaps 6 into the adjacent space.

On the contrary, the assembly of the invention is intended, in the firstplace, for nursing patients having a contagious disease, so that airhaving contacted this patient should be prevented from emerging into theadjacent space. According to the invention, therefore, the air isexhausted from the unit 1 by means of a filterblower unit 40 which is,in the case shown, constructed as a movable unit connected to the cavity22 of the floor 8 by means of a hose 41, apertures 42 opening in theouter wall 9 of this floor communicating with this cavity. In thismanner, the air is exhausted from the inside of the unit 1 along theside walls 5. Moreover, outside air is sucked in through the gaps 6 too,the latter air flow preventing air from leaking away from the in side ofthe unit. Instead of a movable unit 40 also a stationary unit may beused which may be positioned in a suitable location. In particular thelatter unit may be housed in the space 17 below the cabinet 16.

ln order to prevent that by movements of the pliable side walls 5 airwould escape from the inside, upstanding boards 43 (FIG. 2) arepreferably provided around the lower side of these walls. In this mannerthe passage for the outside air taken in through the gaps 6 is lengthened and narrowed so that this air flow obtains a sufficient velocityfor completely preventing air from leaking away outwardly from theinterior of the separated space. FIG. 3 shows another embodiment inwhich, instead of the boards 43, horizontal bars or tubes 44 areprovided around the lower extremities of the walls 5, a plastics foil 45being laid over these bars or tubes, which foil, furthermore, extendsbelow the floor 8, and prevents soiling of the bottom.

As shown in FIG. 4, a second flap 46 may be fixed at the upper side ofthe walls 5 in the channel bars 11, which flap is situated at the innerside of the wall 5 in question. At the upper side of the bar 11 suctionopenings 47 are provided, communicating, for instance. with the cavity22 in the floor 8 or directly with the unit 40, so that, at the upperside of the wall 5, the same effeet is obtained as at the lower sidenear the floor 8.

The filters in the box 3 and a supply blower communicating with thesupply duct 4 are, in principle, superfluous when there is no objectionagainst outside air en tering the unit 1. However, when the upper wallof the unit 1 is open, there is a risk that air will leak away from thisunit upwardly in the case of failure of the suction unit 40. Therefore,it is always preferred to provide filters in the box 3 which may preventcontaminated air from leaking away. When the flow resistance of thesefilters is high, it may occur that the pressure inside the unit 1becomes too low, and then the pliable walls 2 will be pressed inwards.It is, then, advisable to include a blower in the supply duct 4, and asimilar unit 40 may be used to that end, but it is also possible toconnect the outflow side ofthe unit 40 to the duct 4. An advantage ofusing filters 3 is that the patient to be nursed is protected againstinfection from the outside by other disease germs.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show a special embodiment of a transfer cabinet 15. Thiscabinet has preferably transparent walls, for instance of rigid plasticsplates, and, at the front side, a hinged lid 47 with holes 48 which areclosed by gloves 48' is provided. Also in at least one side wall asimilar hole 48 with a glove 48' is provided, thus enabling to take overfrom within an object which is introduced through the front openingafter opening the lid only a little. The rear wall of this cabinet isprovided with a rigid clamping rim 49 in which the edges of an openingprovided in the adjacent side wall 5 of the unit 1 may be clamped. Theinner space 16 of this cabinet is, at the lower side, delimited by aworking surface 50, and, if desired, shelves 50' may be provided in alateral part for storing certain objects.

In the space 17 below the transfer cabinet a blower 51 is arranged,having its intake side connected to a slot 52 in the bottom 50, whichslot is situated near the lower edge of the lid 47. In this manner anair flow is maintained originating from the vicinity of the filter box 3and flowing along the front wall and the lid, and, in particular, alsoalong the gloves 48'. As the lid 47 is opened, also ambient air will besucked in through the opening, so that possibly contaminated air isprevented from flowing out. As indicated by interrupted lines alsoadditional openings 52 may be provided in other points of the bottom forobtaining an additional air curtain. It is also possible to close theopening 18 with a lid or a flexible flap.

The discharge side of the blower 51 may be provided with a filter 53 forallowing the air taken in to be blown off into the environment. It is,however, advisable to connect the discharge side 54 of this filter tothe intake side of the filter box 3, in which case simple filters 53will be sufficient, and it is also possible to omit these filterscompletely in that case. As mentioned before, the space 17 may alsoaccommodate the complete filterblower unit for maintaining the desiredair flow in the separated space, in which case a separate blower 51 forcabinet 15 may be superfluous.

The suction unit 40 may be constructed in many different ways, and, inparticular, the unit described in my copending patent application Ser.No. l40,549 now US. Pat. No. 3,782,265 may be used, in which not onlydust-filters for the normal operation of the assembly may be arranged,but also special absorbing beds for absorbing harmful vapours when theinterior space of the assembly is being disinfected. Moreover, it isalso possible to use separate suction units 40 for the normal filteringoperation and for disinfecting purposes respec' tively.

Of course provisions should be made to prevent air from flowing outwardsfrom the interior of the unit 1 in the case of failure of a suctionunit. When a supply blower is included in the supply duct 4, this blowershould, then, be switched off, in order to prevent an undue rise of thepressure inside the unit 1.

I claim:

1. An assembly for providing an enclosed space to be isolated andseparated from its surroundings in that direct air flow from said spaceto said surroundings is impeded, comprising:

a frame having a pervious top structure and side walls, having inner andouter surfaces, which extend from the top structure to the vicinity ofthe bottom thereof, and establishing lateral boundaries of the space asdefined therewith, at least a portion of the side walls being flexibleand suspended from the top structure at an upper edge and terminating ina lower edge above a floor, thereby forming a gap for permitting an airflow through the gap between a the floor and the lower edge of thesuspended side walls;

a raised platform on the floor having suction channels communicatingwith at least one suction opening, having a lower edge, the side wallsextending down, below the lower edge of the suction opening.

a suction unit connected to the suction opening for sucking air throughthe gap between the lower edge of the suspended side walls and theplatform as well as from the space into the suction openings throughsaid channels, thereby sustaining a down draft from said pervious topsturcture and maintaining an air curtain through continuous air flowfrom the surroundings through the gap underneath at least the bottom ofthe suspended portion of the side walls; and

filter means included in the suction means capable of removing germs assucked from said space.

2. The assembly of claim 1, characterized in that additional dustfilters are included in the top structure and having a sufficient flowresistance for preventing contaminated air from leaking away through thetop structure in the case of failure of a suction unit.

3. The assembly of claim 2, characterized by at least one blower as anair supply to the dust filters of the top structure.

4. The assembly of claim 3, characterized by safety means for switchingoff the at least one supply blower in the case of failure of a suctionunit.

5. The assembly of claim 3 characterized by similar filter-blower unitsfor exhausting as well as for supplying air.

6. The assembly of claim 1, characterized by a baffle arranged adjacentto the bottom at the outer side of a side wall and extending above thelower edge of this side wall, and forming an air lock together with thisside wall and the raised platform situated inside this wall.

7. The assembly of claim 6, characterized in that the baffle is formedby a plastics foil lying on the bottom and laid over bars extendingparallel to the bottom.

8. The assembly of claim 1 provided with a resilient flap arranged atthe outer surface of the upper edge of each side wall. characterized bya resilient flap at the inner surface of this side wall, and delimitingan air lock together with this wall and the outer flap.

9. The assembly of claim 8, characterized by suction openingscommunicating with the space between both flaps and being connected to asuction unit.

10. The assembly of claim 1, provided with a transfer cabinet, theinterior of which communicates with the interior of the separated spaceby means of a transfer opening in a side wall, characterized by a frontlid hinged supported at its upper side for closing the opening of thetransfer cabinet, and by suction openings provided in the bottom of thiscabinet at least in the vicinity of the lower edge of this lid.

11. The assembly of claim 10, provided with a suction unit arrangedbelow the transfer cabinet, characterized in that the outflow end ofthis unit is connected to the air supply of the upper side of theassembly so as to obtain a substantially closed circuit into whichadditional filters are included.

12. The assembly of claim 10, characterized in that in at least one sidewall of the transfer cabinet an opening closed by a glove is provided.

1. An assembly for providing an enclosed space to be isolated andseparated from its surroundings in that direct air flow from said spaceto said surroundings is impeded, comprising: a frame having a pervioustop structure and side walls, having inner and outer surfaces, whichextend from the top structure to the vicinity of the bottom thereof, andestablishing lateral boundaries of the space as defined therewith, atleast a portion of the side walls being flexible and suspended from thetop structure at an upper edge and terminating in a lower edge above afloor, thereby forming a gap for permitting an air flow through the gapbetween a the floor and the lower edge of the suspended side walls; araised platform on the floor having suction channels communicating withat least one suction opening, having a lower edge, the side wallsextending down, below the lower edge of the suction opening. a suctionunit connected to the suction opening for sucking air through the gapbetween the lower edge of the suspended side walls and the platform aswell as from the space into the suction openings through said channels,thereby sustaining a down draft from said pervious top sturcture andmaintaining an air curtain through continuous air flow from thesurroundings through the gap underneath at least the bottom of thesuspended portion of the side walls; and filter means included in thesuction means capable of removing germs as sucked from said space. 2.The assembly of claim 1, characterized in that additional dust filtersare included in the top structure and having a sufficient flowresistance for preventing contaminated air from leaking away through thetop structure in the case of failure of a suction unit.
 3. The assemblyof claim 2, characterized by at least one blower as an air supply to thedust filters of the top structure.
 4. The assembly of claim 3,characterized by safety means for switching off the at least one supplyblower in the case of failure of a suction unit.
 5. The assembly ofclaim 3 characterized by similar filter-blower units for exhausting aswell as for supplying air.
 6. The assembly of claim 1, characterized bya baffle arranged adjacent to the bottom at the outer side of a sidewall and extending above the lower edge of this side wall, and formingan air lock together with this side wall and the raised platformsituated inside this wall.
 7. The assembly of claim 6, characterized inthat the baffle is formed by a plastics foil lying on the bottom andlaid over bars extending parallel to the bottom.
 8. The assembly ofclaim 1 provided with a resilient flap arranged at the outer surface ofthe upper edge of each side wall, characterized by a resilient flap atthe inner surface of this side wall, and delimiting an air lock togetherwith this wall and the outer flap.
 9. The assembly of claim 8,characterized by suction openings communicating with the space betweenboth flaps and being connected to a suction unit.
 10. The assembly ofclaim 1, provided with a transfer cabinet, the interior of whichcommunicates with the interior of the separated space by means of atransfer opening in a side wall, characterized by a front lid hingedsupported at its upper side for closing the opening of the transfercabinet, and by suction openings provided in the bottom of this cabinetat least in the vicinity of the lower edge of this lid.
 11. The assemblyof claim 10, provided with a suction unit arranged below the transfercabinet, characterized in that the outflow end of this unit is connectedto the air supply of the upper side of the assembly so as to obtain asubstantially closed circuit into which additional filters are included.12. The assembly of claim 10, characterized in that in at least one sidewall of the transfer cabinet an opening closed by a glove is provided.